Team 12 Work in Chalmette

It has been soo hard to get online here UGHHHHH! But I have I have a chance now so I am going for it!

We arrived here on Sunday after noon, after spending the night in Nashville. There had been 20 folks killed by tornados the on Saturday. We did see some damage and, some pretty severe damage.

As we arrived here in New Orleans, it appears that many things have not changed. Within 15 miles of us, only a Walgreens is open...and almost bare.....The Home Depot is operating out of the garden center...and it is open as well....There are a couple of tatoo/bars open....but we have not been to those.

On this trip we are working in a city called Chalmette. It is the famous St Bernard Parrish area that we have heard so much about. Our headquarters is the Hilltop Rescue Relief Mission, based out of California. It is in an elementary school that sits in the middle of an area that had about 8 feet of water. The school has been gutted and cleaned. The have allowed the mission to operate out of it to serve the St Bernard Parrish. There is devistation all around us. There is a trailer city right in front of the school...some with folks in it,,,and some that are ready for teachers and responders when/if they come back.

On Monday, we were assigned two houses to de-muck..they were across the street from each other. the water had been to the ceiling and both houses had stuff in them. One of them was full of belongings and the other was not as bad. Both of them had to have everything taken out, then the carpet, the walls and the ceilings. One of the rooms was a babies room. Our teens were moved by the toys and clothing that had been left behind. There was 6 inches of mud in that room. Another room had the same amount of mud, and lots of family pictures and heirlooms that had been destroyed.

Our job was to take everything to the curb...and I mean everything. Carpet, belongings, drywall, glass, appliances, dishes, furniture, everthing out on the street. We had to rip the drywall out. It was all moldy and stained with water, mud and oil. The piles at the street were high and into the neighbors yards. Of course, there was no one at all living in this neighborhood. One of the homeowners, did have a FEMA trailor in their drive and were living in it.

The stories were very sad. The people had very little hope and were very happy to see us. Many folks stop at the work sites and let us know how happy they are that we are there to help them.

One man stopped by in a dump truck. His name was Dale, and he had lived in this area all of his life. His four kids grew up, married and all lived with in ten miles of each other. He shared that now, they were scattered all over...the daughter, a single mother, was transferred to Texas, the boys were in Oklahoma, Baton Rouge and Atlanta. He was very sad that they were all so far apart. He was very distraught that at the age of 62, he and his wife would have to start all over again. Every thing, in their home was lost. His daughter had taken pictures with her when she evacuated. No one else had any....He was teary as he shared that.

We finished up, and returned to the compound for dinner and a devotional. It was very good.

On Tuesday we got up at 6:30 am, had breakfast and a devo and headed to our assignment. It was a 8 room home, that had had water to the ceiling and once again, everything was destroyed. The couple that owned the home were there and worked with us. The man several times would sit down and cry as different items were removed from his home. The wife loved on the teens and adults who were helping. She and he were so greatful for everthing we did. The had recently done some remodling on the home you could tell that they were devastated by the storm and and the destruction of their posessions. They were greatful for their lives, and today, for the teens and adults who came to rescue them from this mess. We were joined today by a cool group from California. 4 teens and 4 adults. They were a welcomed addition to our team. We divided up the house and went to work. It was not long before there wa! s a pile out front, 10 feet wide, 75 feet long. I am not sure that I have ever seen teens (or adults for that matter) work soooo hard in such horrible conditions. The mud smelled. The mold was up the walls to the ceiling, it stunk. There was a refridgerator that really was, well...it is impossible to describe. Clothing, cookware, christmas decorations, crafts and more were all taken to the curb. Sadly, the wife watched most of it go out and would occasionally pull something back to save. She would stop a teen and tell them a story about an article or craft, and then watch as it was tossed on the pile.

I was so proud of our teens as they worked sooo hard to be of service to this couple. Destruction of walls, carpet, and more they did without a complaint. Girls were (guys too) pushing wheel barrows full of stuff, laden with mold, oil and mud out to the curb. Several of these student have so impressed me with their attitudes, love and hard, hard work. It has been a priveldge to serve with them. One in particular has had a very positive attitude. He has worked and served and talked with every one in such a Christ like manner that, it has been a blessing to me to witness his actions.

We invited the couple back here for lunch and dinner and they so enjoyed being with us. He and she both hugged each and every person on our team after we prayed before we left the house. We just dont know how much we were an encouragement to them this day. I know part of a burden was lifted from their hearts. I know that Christ was clearly shown to them this day. I also know that the couple had a lasting impact on our team..several were in tears as we left and as they spoke of the day.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We have a couple days left to go. I am excited to see what God has in store for us!

love

robin

Robin Weier

Tennessee Update and April 15 trip

We do still need participants to join 4 teens and one woman from New Life in Gahanna. At least one guy who is willing to help chaperone is required for them to make the trip to Louisiana. I'd love it if one of our previous volunteers could step forward and lead this team to work next week in New Orleans.

Our current team continued from the Nashville area Sunday and spent the day today mucking out 3, three, III houses! To be fair, they said one didn't have a lot left to do, but 1 is a good day. That's some crew!

I spoke with Mark Bryson in Hendersonville just now. He reports that there has been a lot done in that area hit hard by tornados Friday night. In fact he had a group of 30 from his church who couldn't find work to do. It seems the tornado storm damage is going to be like this; spotty enough that it is well handled by local governments, volunteers, and contractors.

I have a couple of quick response volunteers, but need to have 40 or so individuals that can go quickly to a new disaster zone and help setup relief operations. Servants Unite's mission is to help volunteers get where they are needed. We will be partnering with other groups to provide labor to distribute supplies they secure and love on those hurt by tragedies like Katrina.

We also need volunteers who can man collection stations at local churches to collect supplies for the next Katrina like response we are called to. We need to pray we don't have anything of that magnitude while planning for the possibility. Water and ready to eat food can be collected months before it is needed to ship quickly into a needy area. Even if that is our own backyard when we have severe storm damage.

God has laid this path in front of some of you, or those you forward this information on to.

Servants Unite!

John McGuire

Team 12 lands in New Orleans!

Our team of spring break teens and adults rolled into Chalmette at 6:00 central time. Brendan already has them 2 houses to muck out in the morning. They promise to keep us up to date with what they are doing.

Team on the way to Louisiana

Team 12 left Hendersonville at 9:15 eastern this morning headed on down to Louisiana. They should arrive in Chalmette around 8:00 or 9:00 tonight.

Check back for updates!

Team 12 at their overnight stop in Hendersonville

They had a good run down yesterday, arriving in Hendersonville (north side of Nashville) around 8:30 eastern. Robin reports the only damage they could see on their way in were two churches, but that they were badly damaged. They were having dinner at the mexican place next to the church, hitting the hay, and will head on to Louisiana after early service there this morning.

Team 12 on the road to disaster ;-)

In a real way! Team 12 left the Spring Road Church building at 2:00 this afternoon 19 members strong. As of 6:00 they had cleared Louisville Kentucky on their way to Hendersonville Tennesse, a northern suburb of Nashville.

Last night Hendersonville and neighboring communities were stricken by some powerful storms and tornados. At this time there is not a need for the team to stay in the Nashville area to help there, but options are open. In the morning, they will make the decision to stay and help if areas of need are opn to them or head on to Louisiana where we know work waits for them.

Two people have expressed interest in spending a few days this week in the Nashville area and we have chainsaws lined up. If you can help out when severely damaged areas are opened up, call or email to the information on the right. We'll keep you informed of specific plans and needy areas.

Remember also that Western Tennessee hit last Sunday evening is still in need of volunteers and assistance. Tell your neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, and church family about the opportunities available with Servants Unite. Many are available and only need to know of an avenue to volunteer in these efforts. Servants Unite's focus is on getting them there.

Keep monitoring this blog for Team 12's activities and information on any teams we send into Tennessee.

Tornado damage tonight team 12 overnight stop for tomorrow...

Irony of ironies, we chose to continue with the plan of sending this Servants Unite team to Louisiana because some of the teen's parents were concerned about sending them into the new disaster zone in Dyer County Tennessee. Tonight there was major storm damage around Nashville including a tornado touchdown in Hendersonville, the suburb where the team is scheduled to stay tomorrow night, though towns east and west of Hendersonville sustained the most damage. [CNN Story]

I just spoke with Mark Bryson who is our contact at Hendersonville Church of Christ. He just came from the church where the Red Cross has set up a shelter in the Gym. Many homes have been destroyed all around Nashville and at least 11 are reported to have died in the storm.

Please be in prayer for this area and the families grieving tonight.

Mark says our team is still welcome to stay overnight that there is no problem getting into the church and there is plenty of room for them in the Gym. I've left voicemails or talked with the adult members of the team and asked them to get with the teens they are taking. For Northland and Spring Road kids, I left messages from Robin and Troy. For Northside kids I have talked to Beth. I've also informed the team lead, Gary Sargent.

As this is fresh news our plans to leave at 12:30 Saturday are not yet changed, but it is inevitable that some adjustments will be required. I will check back with Mark at Hendersonville in the morning and be able to get more information out then.

The Hendersonville church has hosted most of our teams on their way home from Katrina Relief trips and many other groups. They volunteer weekly and contribute heavily to the Nashville based Churches of Christ Disaster Relief who has sent so many truckloads of food, water, supplies, and now appliances and furniture.

I believe we need to rise to the opportunity God has given us here to help them in their area's time of need. I expect there will be an immediate need for volunteers to help in the area. There is also an immediate need for water in neighboring towns where all electric and utilities are out. Verification of the safety of working in the area will be of primary importance.

• We should expect to leave the scheduled team at Hendersonville as needed.
• We should supplement their effort with more volunteers who read this email as they can be assembled and equipped over the next few days.
• We need a few tools to send with them:
• Chainsaws with Gas, Oil, extra chains (4 adult use only)
• Wheelbarrows
• We need people to volunteer to man donation stations at local churches to collect water. I'll check with Master Provisions and Convoy of Hope for availability of shipping to move the water down economically.
• We need additional donations to cover expenses of this unplanned, though anticipated need. Servants Unite currently has $10,000 with $2,000 planned to cover this trip. Shipping and transportation costs of more volunteers will further deplete our limited funds.

Anyone who can serve this need, please contact me ASAP (info in signature at bottom).

Again please be in prayer about this new calamity and also for our team and leadership and for wise decision making while following the path God has laid out before us.

____________________________________________
Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

Several Updates including Tornado Relief

Wanted to keep you up to date on what’s going on with Servants Unite. We have several trips scheduled out through the end of July. These are continued relief for the New Orleans area and on standby for a new area in need of urgent relief should one come up. If you have a group for a summer mission trip to the gulf coast check out that schedule or request a date.

We’re also looking for first responders. Doctors, nurses, and EMTs are certainly needed, but anyone who has quick availability, teachers and bus drivers in the summer, homemakers, or anyone who can leave on short notice are needed to make our first run into a new relief situation. Tasks will include transporting and distributing relief supplies and initial cleanup.

Along those lines I have made a contact in Dyer County Tennessee about the relief need there. This area was badly damaged in Sunday night's storms. News reports last night talked about over 1000 houses destroyed. They have had many such inquiries and are planning on hosting volunteers for the upcoming weeks in the West Dyersburg Church of Christ building. They will provide food as well. Most roads are open today and areas are being secured for electric and other hazards. Primary work is cleaning up brush.

Servants Unite can organize a team of volunteers to work in the area if there is interest. Tentative departure would be this Sunday April 9 at 12:30 returning Saturday evening, April 15. In addition to the recommendations on the volunteer link at www.servantsunite.org, the team will need chain saws, wheelbarrows, work vehicles (trucks), and trailers. If you can join that team or lend tools, please email john@servantsunite.org or call 614-404-8610.

We also have Team 12 for Katrina relief departing at 12:30 Saturday, April 8 from Spring Road Church of Christ. This is a large group of high school students on spring break with some adult volunteers and sponsors from 6 different churches. Over the course of today, this team grew from 16 to 27 volunteers! Come out to wish them well Saturday and lift them up in prayer this week!

Finally, watch for the new web site coming soon! Todd and I have been fiddling with this for a month or so now and I think you’ll find it an easy resource to use once complete. Thanks for our continued support and interest. Together we are growing Servants Unite!

John McGuire

Team 11 returns!

Welcome home to ma dear mum in law Nancy Michael, Susan Stingley, Kathy Kar, and Larry Hunter from the Xenia area. They had some vehicle problems on the way home yesterday, but made it home around 4:00 daylight savings time.

They mucked houses this week, one with 6 inches of mud. Nancy has pics and stories to put up which I hope to get to you in a few days.

Surviving Katrina

Bill Niess sent this link to me. time.com/katrina. It's a pictoral essay with the stories of the people in the pictures done mostly right after the storm. Good reminder of who we're helping and how much progress we have made.

Pics from last week

Well, I finally got Bill and Meghan's pictures up from last week's trip to Louisiana. You can find them by clicking the photo album link on our web site or at these links directly:
Bill
Meghan

Nancy McCoy and Susan Stingley from Xenia Church of Christ, Kathy Kar, and Larry Hunter will be heading down Saturday for a week. Pray for their safe trip and a productive week.

John McGuire

Jennifer Levanduski, Buffalo NY

Having been back into the swing of things for a few days in cold and snowy Buffalo, I wanted to collect my thoughts and send you something regarding our recent trip to warm, sunny LA.

First, leaving Chalmette on Friday, I felt selfish because what I was taking away from Louisiana was about 10,000 times greater than the work I had done while I was there. Never before have I had an experience so spiritually moving. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit was pouring out of each of the 400 volunteers who stayed in the school with us that week and for that, to have been part of that, gave me a blessing greater than I can even describe.

Next, it is awe inspiring to hear the stories of the people who lived there. While demucking our first house, we met the daughter, JoAnn, of the homeowner who is one of the most interesting, engaging, and courageous people I've ever met. Her story of driving north through Louisiana with her mother, daughter, and menagerie of pets wowed each of us. That night, JoAnn, along with her mother, daughter, and neighbor, joined us for worship at the school and a nice chat after that. The next day, as we worked on another house, JoAnn and her mother pulled up, told us they had been driving around looking for us, and unloaded a cooler full of cold drinks and snacks! That they would be so gracious and giving absolutely floored each of us. Their gratitude for our being there was overwhelming especially given that I feel like we should have done more for them.

Another homeowner we met, Janie, was a paramedic and her tales of heroics through the storm were also awe inspiring, as was her gratitude and cheerfulness, especially given that she had not yet received her FEMA trailer.

Another blessing I received was that my life was a musical for the week! I have always wanted my life to be a musical. The group sang worship songs all week; we would be working in a house, everybody doing different tasks and someone would begin a song...and everyone would join in! This bursting forth of song also happened in the vans, playing cards, and even in the showers. This spirit of constant praise and worship inspired each of us and grounded us in the fact that we truly were doing the Lord's work.

One other thing that struck me was the unwavering dedication and phenomenal leadership of Brendan, Brad, Tim, and Lisa. They expected nothing but the best from us all and exhibited a spirit of selflessness in everything they did.

One last note is that it was clear that the Lord was with us all week. The weather reports before we left indicated that it would be 80-85 and humid all week. I was concerned that, as Yankees, we would melt working in that heat! However, the weather was gorgeous, blue skies and breezes all week. Additionally, despite many nails through boots, scrapes on a daily basis, sunburns, and a hammer head that fell off, everyone made it through the week safely and there is no doubt that was purely by the grace of God.

I could go on forever (and I kind of have...) but I hope this helps with your account of UB's experience. I have found it difficult describing the experience (both here and to folks in Buffalo); it truly was the greatest thing I've ever had the privilege of being a part of.

Additionally, as president of my student government here at UB (the Graduate Management Association, the student government of the MBA program), we have one last charity event coming up and I've convinced the other members of my e-board to donate the proceeds to Hilltop Rescue.

Thank you,
Jennifer

Jennifer Levanduski
President - Graduate Management Association
University at Buffalo School of Management
MBA, Class of 2006
http://wings.buffalo.edu/mgtclubs/GMA

Some Great Stories from Spring Break Work Last Week

Thought this was interesting. 270 articles on spring break hurricane relief work! Amazing turnout from college kids and quite a bit of press coverage to boot.

You should checkout an article I posted to the WhereISawJesus blog from Mark Elrod. It's a great synopsis of the week a group from Harding University had working in Louisiana last week. Mark has day by day coverage on his blog. The stories he tells are exactly why we go and serve. What an awsome God that gives us these opportunities to work in His kingdom.

WOW!

Team 10 breezed back through Columbus complaining about the cold. It as in the 80s this week where they were working, but it'll be colder still when they roll into Buffalo tonight :-) I don't remember the teams I've been on having so much energy when we got back. They hit Westerville at 7:00 where we had some grilled burgers waiting for them. They were still excited and telling each other stories over dinner like Laura who dreamed the church they slept in last night was flooded and they had to demuck it :-O

I asked them all to spend a little time in the next few days to write those down and send them in to share with you including the top 11 sayings of the week. I pirated what Pics were available off of people's cameras and will be posting them in the next couple of days.



Bill Niess who led them down headed for home and so did all the UB students and staff. They decided to continue on to Buffalo tonight since they got in at a reasonable time. Bill said it was a great group, no problem, and he really enjoyed them. I saw some tears shed by students when they had to tell him goodbye too.

This is great work when you can just go with a bunch of strangers for Him and come back family. What a Lord we serve!

Team 10 on the way home

8 houses demucked - $15,600.00
One semi trailer of furniture unloaded and pet cages relocated - $2,300.00
Getting dirty and helping people - Priceless

Bill Niess and the students from the University of Buffalo are on their way home after a hard week of work. They left Chalmette around 2:00 after a half day Friday. Homewood Church of Christ in Birmingham will host them on the way home for tonight and they'll return to Columbus tomorrow evening. Some are heading on home to be back for Sunday morning, and others will be staying at Westerville Christian Saturday night.

I'll be collecting pics and stories from our UB volunteers when they come in Saturday to share with you on the blog and hope to hear from the Ohio State crew during the week next week. Also keep track of the whereisawjesus.blogspot.com for stories from other groups working with our partners in Louisiana!

Something else to pray for. We had one volunteer for the team leaving Saturday. Fortunately Matt McVey's group from Ohio State Ag Science has a slot open and James Harworth will be going with them. Also fortunately, they have a place to stay with our friends in Chalmette since FEMA closed the volunteer camp they were to stay in south of town in Plaqemines Parish. Will the FEMA insanity ever stop?

Our next trip is made up presently of a group from Xenia Church of Christ led by my mother-in-law Nancy Michael. We'll keep you posted on that one too!

Teams are also leaving April 8 and April 16. Get a full list of planned trips into the summer months at www.servantsunite.org by clicking on the "trip dates" link.

Team 10 in the Field, Tuesday

Just talked with Bill Niess down in Chalmette with the University of Buffalo students. He was out of breath, but you wouldn't believe the excitement in his voice! They have over 400 people at the school and are hitting it hard this morning. There are crews working 5 houses at the same time on the street he is on. They had an upright freezer to remove walked three doors down and came up with a dolly. "Thank you Jesus!" Bill said.

Now I really am jealous I'm not there.

More from them later. He doesn't have network connectivity so will be dictating a report to me on the homeowner they worked for/with yesterday. Pictures may be in short supply, but we'll see what we can do.

Sounds like they are all representing our effort VERY well and having an incredible time.

Team 10 has Landed

They got into Chalmette late last night. Today's an off day and they are going to see the lower 9th ward and the French Quarter this afternoon.

Also welcome home Jim Inbody from Findlay who spent last week building on the electrical system at the Tammany Oaks warehouse in Hammond and wiring up stoves to handle the volunteer load this week.

Stay tuned here for updates as the team works in New Orleans this week!

And They're Off!

At 8:00 pm Eastern, the team was in Tuscaloosa. By unanimous decision they are heading on through to Chalmette tonight to work in the morning. Talked to Brendan in Chalmette as well who reports the school building is operational as a volunteer center and he's busy bedding down arriving volunteers. We'll keep you posted!

Here's another group shot of the University of Buffalo group right before departure.

They all packed up and headed out at 7:45, ahead of schedule. Thanks to Westerville Christian Church for hosting them last night.

They'll be working all week with 400+ volunteers in Chalmette and staying overnight again at Westerville Christian, next Saturday, March 18 on their way home. You can come out and see them Sunday morning before they head home to see how their trip went.

I'll keep you posted throughout the day on their progress so check back often.

Team 10 - University of Buffalo Group

The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group from theUniversity of Buffalo arrived in Westerville around 11:30 for their overnight. Bill Niess leads them on down to Louisiana to work early in the morning. They wanted to plan to leave at 7:00 (so as to get going by 8:00 :-) Here's the crew:

Spring Break is Kicking Off with a Bang!

OK, Gang! Here we go! It's been a busy week for disaster relief. There've been last minute scrambles to find vans; Scary FEMA induced panic; and yet amazing "only God could have made that happen" resolutions to those issues. This is GOOD work!

Friday night late, 25 University of Buffalo students will be rolling in to Westerville Christian to spend the night before heading on down to Louisiana to work for the week. They've been organized from the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship by Westerville native Marilyn Sloan.

NEED: Extra Air mattresses or cots for them to sleep on. Friday 3/10 and on their return, Saturday 3/18. If you can help out, call my cell @ 614-404-8610 to sync up on a time to drop them off.

Special thanks to Bill Niess from January's team 7 who will be leading this crew back down. Also special thanks to Westerville Christian for the use of the van and trailer and Nick and Lisa on the ministry staff for working out a deal with me for that :-)

You can come out and see them off Saturday morning at 8:00.

I was also able to rent another van after Enterprise had a last minute cancellation (thank you Lord!) and we have a couple of the UB group who are old enough to drive the rental (and again!). This means though that we have another...

NEED: More fundraising. The van rentals will be costing around $900. This depletes our funds more than expected since we also have the gas expense on top of the rental. I've recieved 1 very large private donation since our incorporation and a couple smaller ones. We need to bring some more gas and rental money into the organization to cover the costs we have coming up.

The team will be going to stay with over 400 other spring break volunteers in a VERY recently acquired and outfitted school building in Chalmette right in the middle of the work. Here's more about that God at work story. The Tammany Oaks Church is hosting 240. I'm really jealous I'm not going. The massive show of force next week will be very impressive. I'm really anxious to hear back from these students about what I'm sure is going to be an awsome experience.

I encourage you all to peruse and follow that WhereISawJesus blog as well as ours. I maintain that for the groups down there and the content is both more and different as it represents the general effort that more than 2000 of us have been a part of so far from all over the nation.

There have been massive changes since you were there last. You can catch up on them on that blog. That total number of volunteers (6 months worth) will double in the next month of spring break trips. My outlook on the changes is that God allowed some painful reshuffling to happen in order to set them up where they could handle that load. His plan is always impressive!

That's been one of the highpoints this week; the massive renewed interest. I've gotten several phone calls a day this week for people to go down with us. Seems when my faith starts to wear thin and building this organization seems to be making imperceptible progress, it all takes a huge leap forward.

More news on that front. I want to welcome Linworth United Methodist Church in Dublin to our family. Bill and Brian Niess who attend there and went with us on the January trip have engaged the church leadership and we gave a presentation last evening at their missions meeting. Their youth group will be joining our July 9 trip down and adult volunteers will be the initial members of a team leaving July 30. Linworth also plans to sponsor Servants Unite financially, with skilled first response volunteers, and other resources. I met more great people there last night and really look forward to working with them going forward.

I also want to highlight another one of our volunteers from that January trip, Gary "Sarge" Sargent from Westerville Freewill Baptist. He's agreed to lead the April 8 spring break trip. He's bringing a few friends from church after doing a presentation for his congregation and he's contacted several other churches about involvement. That's exactly the kind of work we need to build Servants Unite into the fully functioning relief network of volunteers that I pray for it to be. Thanks Gary for your continued service at home.

If you would like assistance presenting our vision to your church or others, we can help out with videos, materials, and presenters. To kick that off, talk to your church leadership about our organization and your experience and get them in touch with me.

We don't have long before we'll have a new mission to resond to. I want to remind you that the current needs list is at this link. You can also find job descriptions for volunteer positions in the organization here.

Thanks all! Keep checking the blogs for updates from our teams in the field over the next month.

John McGuire